More justification for a homeowner aptitude test

Saturday morning, we found that no water was coming out of the hot water tap in the kitchen. Cold water was flowing fine, and there was hot water in the rest of the house, so we were really only surprised, not concerned. (Plus, hot water came back later that afternoon. Crisis averted!)

Saturday evening, the baking element in the electric oven caught on fire, right at the tail end of cooking dinner. We turned off the oven, turned off the breakers, and waited for it to die out. And then we saw that the fire had burned right through the coil, so the oven was out of commission until we could replace it (which Husband did very handily on Monday).

Monday evening, we discovered that the dishwasher was somehow clogged. There were several inches of standing water in the bottom, and despite Husband taking all the necessary pieces out and suctioning up all the water, there was no obvious blockage.

Which leads me to Tuesday morning, when we discovered that the kitchen pipes were both completely frozen – and still are.

We (and by we, I mean Husband again) have insulated the pipes, but the insulation appears to be no match for the frigid temperatures in the area. And friends have suggested that the frozen kitchen pipes are also what’s causing the dishwasher clog.

It’s like a two-for-one deal that you never actually wanted.

But the good news is that we can still cook in the kitchen. The oven is fixed and fine, and there have been no fires since Saturday. (Knock on wood.)

The bad news is that we can’t clean anything, unless we fill up buckets with water from the bathroom sink and cart them in.

And through all of these things, I’m very aware that our issues could be much much worse. But I’m still left thinking, who in the hell let us buy a house?

One Response

Did you get a home warranty when you bought the house (separate from home insurance)? If so, you can always call them to see if they can come out and have a look at the pipes (which I’m guessing froze due to the fabulous temperatures we’ve been having). They should cover plumbing.

I didn’t know this but apparently you should open your cupboards when temps are super low so I went around the house doing just that before they dipped so ridiculously low. So far we’re ok and as you know we’re getting spring temps (WTH?!) this weekend.

Our hot water tank was leaking badly over Thanksgiving (as you may already be aware from FB). But thankfully has been replaced.

Trust me, I feel your pain. I hope all of this is fixed soon!!

I can’t actually remember if we got a home warranty or not. If not, that was a huge misstep on our part. And that’s definitely good to know about the cupboards. I never would have thought of that. This morning it seemed like water was back in the kitchen, though the dishwasher still isn’t draining. But it’s all about baby steps, right?

I remember your water tank issue, too. That was resolved relatively quickly, right? Not that it’s not still a huge pain in the butt.